This invention relates generally to intravascular medical devices. More particularly it relates to a device used for capturing emboli in a fluid vessel during a variety of intravascular medical procedures and a method of manufacture for that device.
There are a number of intravascular procedures where emboli may be created in the vasculature. It may be desirable to capture these emboli before they flow downstream.
Embodiments of the invention pertain to a device for capturing emboli in fluid flowing in a body vessel lumen and a method of manufacturing the device. Certain embodiments of the invention more particularly pertain to a frame and a filter material portion of the emboli capturing system. In certain embodiments the frame comprises a plurality of proximally fixed elongate members attached to a collar which are expandable into a generally helical pattern. This generally helical pattern of elongate members is configured to open the mouth of the filter to a generally circular shape which contacts the walls of the body vessel lumen to channel the fluid through the filter.
The frame and collar embodiment may be manufactured from a tube of a suitable material such as Nitinol by cutting a number of slits down a substantial portion of the tube and shape setting the elongate members resulting from the slits. This method of manufacture, where the elongate members and the collar are formed from a single tube, provides a ready means of orienting the elongate members with respect to each other and may easily be adapted to frame and filter devices having a different strut configuration.